Conquest & Control Flashcards
All 57 cards in this deck
What was the submission of the earls in 1066?
Leading Anglo-Saxons — Edwin, Morcar, Edgar the Aethling and Archbishop Ealdred of York — surrendered to William at Berkhamsted and accepted him as king.
What were the first Norman castles in England like?
Motte and bailey castles of earth and wood, built very quickly, often by peasant labour; the bailey was an enclosed area holding houses and stables.
True or false? Norman castles were built only on England's borders and coasts, to protect against invasion.
False. Many were built inside England, e.g. at Exeter, Nottingham and York, to control areas where there had been Anglo-Saxon rebellions.
Give one reason Earls Edwin and Morcar revolted in 1068.
William reduced the size of their earldoms, so they lost land and status. (Edwin was also angry that William broke his promise that he could marry William's daughter.)
What did Edgar the Aethling do in 1069?
He led rebellion in the North with Danish support; rebels took York, killing about 3,000 Norman soldiers, but the rebels scattered and the Danes withdrew when William marched north.
Who was Hereward the Wake?
An Anglo-Saxon thegn who led the rebellion at Ely, 1070–71, joined by Earl Morcar.
How was the rebellion at Ely (1070–71) defeated?
William paid the Danes to sail home, and local monks betrayed the rebels by showing his forces a secret route through the Fens, so the rebels surrendered.
Give one reason William ordered the Harrying of the North (1069–70).
To take revenge for the northern rebellions and destroy rebel support, so the North could not be used as a base for a Danish invasion.
What did William's forces do during the Harrying of the North (1069–70)?
They burned villages, homes and crops and killed livestock across a large area of northern England.
Give one consequence of the Harrying of the North.
An estimated 100,000 people died from the violence and the famine that followed; some people resorted to cannibalism.
Who led the Revolt of the Earls in 1075?
Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia, and Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford, joined at first by Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria.
Give one reason for the Revolt of the Earls in 1075.
Ralph and Roger resented William reducing the power and rights of their earldoms; they plotted at Ralph's wedding feast, held without William's permission.
Give one reason the Revolt of the Earls (1075) failed.
The Danish fleet sent to help the rebels arrived too late, and then refused to fight William.
True or false? William I left the throne of England to his eldest son, Robert.
False. England went to his second surviving son, William Rufus (William II); Robert received Normandy and Henry was left silver.
What was the rebellion of 1088?
A revolt led by Bishop Odo to make Robert king of England. William Rufus defeated it, and Odo lost his English lands and was exiled.
How was the House of Godwin linked to the monarchy?
King Edward was married to Edith of Wessex, Godwin's daughter.
What did it mean that Harold Godwinson acted as 'sub-regulus'?
He acted as under-king, running the country as Edward became less interested in government.
When did Edward the Confessor die?
5 January 1066.
What was Harold Godwinson's embassy to Normandy (1064)?
Harold's visit to Normandy, during which he fought alongside William's forces and, William claimed, swore to support William's claim to the throne.
What was William of Normandy's claim to the English throne?
He said Edward promised him the throne in return for his support against a rebellion by Earl Godwin, and he had a blood connection to Edward.
What was Harald Hardrada's claim to the English throne?
He argued that Harthacnut, a previous king of England, had promised the throne to Magnus, Hardrada's nephew and the king of Norway before him.
What was Edgar the Aethling's claim to the English throne?
As Edward's great-nephew he had the closest blood tie; 'Aethling' meant 'throne-worthy'.
What support did William of Normandy gain from the Pope?
The Pope backed William, claiming Harold's coronation was unlawful, and gave him the Papal Banner.
Who did the Witan choose as king after Edward the Confessor's death?
Harold Godwinson, crowned on 6 January 1066.
Who fought at the Battle of Gate Fulford (20 September 1066), and who won?
Harald Hardrada and Tostig defeated the earls Edwin and Morcar.
When was the Battle of Stamford Bridge and who won?
25 September 1066; Harold Godwinson defeated and killed Harald Hardrada and Tostig.
Give one reason Harold won the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
His attack came as a complete surprise — the Vikings were not even wearing their chain mail.
When was the Battle of Hastings?
14 October 1066.
What was the 'feigned retreat' at the Battle of Hastings?
A Norman tactic of pretending to flee, then turning around to attack Harold's army.
Give one way Norman troops and tactics helped William win at Hastings.
A flexible force of foot-soldiers, horsemen and archers allowed a range of tactics, including charges by mounted knights.
How did the condition of Harold's army help William win at Hastings?
It arrived tired after fighting at Stamford Bridge and marching about 250 miles south.
Give one way William's leadership helped him win at Hastings.
He fought on horseback, so he could respond quickly and control his troops effectively.
Give one criticism of Harold's leadership at Hastings.
He marched south too quickly, so his army was tired and reinforcements from the south-west could not join him.
True or false? Harold Godwinson became Earl of Wessex after the death of his father, Earl Godwin.
True. Harold succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex, the richest earldom in England.
How did Harold Godwinson prepare to defend England in the summer of 1066?
He kept a very large army on the south coast and a fleet patrolling the Channel, but in September he had to send the fyrd home to bring in the harvest.
In a motte and bailey castle, what were the motte and the keep?
The motte was an artificial earth mound, anything from about 3 to 30 metres high. The keep was the wooden tower built on top of it, serving as a lookout and the defenders' last refuge.
Why did William I need regents to govern England?
As Duke of Normandy too, he spent long periods across the Channel (up to three-quarters of his last ten years), so trusted men such as Odo, William FitzOsbern and Lanfranc ruled England in his place.
Give one reason William Rufus defeated Odo's rebellion of 1088.
Any one of: Robert Curthose never came from Normandy to back the rebels; many Norman barons and nearly all the bishops stayed loyal to Rufus; English troops, including the fyrd, fought for Rufus.
True or false? In 1066 the eldest son of a king automatically inherited the English throne.
False. There was no single fixed rule: a king's son might inherit but not necessarily the eldest, the Witan could suggest a male relative, or the king could nominate an heir.
What part could the Witan play in choosing a new king?
As a council of leading nobles and churchmen, it could suggest an heir to the throne or be guided by the dead king's wishes.
What was Harold Godwinson's claim to the English throne?
He said Edward the Confessor promised him the crown on his deathbed ('novissima verba'), and he was supported by the English nobles.
Give two things William of Normandy did in 1066 to prepare to enforce his claim, apart from winning the Pope's backing.
He assembled an invasion fleet and recruited soldiers, and secured Normandy and his French provinces so enemies would not attack while he was away.
What was the Anglo-Saxon shield wall?
A tactic in which housecarls and fyrd stood shoulder to shoulder on foot with overlapping shields; at Hastings it held the ridge for most of the day.
True or false? The Anglo-Saxon army fought on horseback at the Battle of Hastings.
False. The Anglo-Saxons rode to battle but fought on foot; mounted knights (cavalry) were a Norman innovation.
How did the Battle of Hastings end?
Harold Godwinson was killed, his remaining troops fled, and William won.
Give two purposes of Norman castles besides defence.
Any two of: a base to patrol and control a conquered area; a residence and meeting place for government; a symbol to overawe and remind the Anglo-Saxons who was in charge.
What was the revolt at Exeter (1068)?
Exeter, where Harold's mother Gytha was living, refused to submit and pay tax; William besieged it for 18 days, took the city and built a castle there.
When did William I die, and who became king of England?
9 September 1087; his second surviving son William Rufus was crowned William II later that month.
Why could Harold Godwinson argue that his 1064 oath to William did not bind him?
He swore it while in William's power in Normandy, so it could be said to have been made under threat.
True or false? The Anglo-Saxons had no fortifications of any kind before the Normans arrived.
False. They had fortifications such as fortified towns, but nothing like the castles the Normans built.
True or false? The damage done by the Harrying of the North was repaired within a year or two.
False. Domesday Book (1086) still recorded large parts of Yorkshire as 'waste', some 16 years later.
Why was Tostig Godwinson willing to back Harald Hardrada's invasion in 1066?
A northern revolt had thrown Tostig out of his earldom of Northumbria in 1065, and Harold accepted his removal, so Tostig went into exile. Siding with Hardrada gave him a way to strike back at his brother and regain Northumbria.
Why did Edward the Confessor have close ties with Normandy?
He spent his youth in exile there, his mother Emma's homeland, while Danish kings ruled England, returning only in 1041. As king he promoted Norman friends to posts at court and in the Church, which angered English nobles such as Godwin.
Where and when did William's army land in England in 1066?
At Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September 1066, three days after Stamford Bridge. William then moved to Hastings and ravaged the surrounding countryside, part of Harold's own earldom, to provoke him into fighting.
What was the difference between housecarls and the fyrd?
Housecarls were paid, full-time warriors who served the king and earls as bodyguards, armed with mail and battle-axes. The fyrd was made up of ordinary freemen called out for a limited period of service, who otherwise farmed their land.
What happened to Earl Waltheof after the Revolt of the Earls?
Although he had confessed his part to William, he was beheaded at Winchester in 1076. He was the only English earl William I executed.
How did William II gain control of Normandy in 1096?
His elder brother Robert Curthose pledged (pawned) the duchy to him for 10,000 marks, to pay for going on the First Crusade. Rufus then ruled both England and Normandy until his death in 1100.